Argentina, Nov 24/Jan 25

[Latbear4blk]

I am in Argentina since mid-November. This is not an adventure trip, so I do not think I will share much. I just wanted to post a few tips, as the local situation has radically changed this year.

Bringing cash is yet the most convenient option, but as the local currency is now stronger, the difference between the official rate and the "blue dollar" is less than 10% and dropping. Yesterday it was 7%. This makes the use of credit cards a new and convenient option. CC operations run according to the "dólar MEP" for foreigners, which is slightly higher than the official rate and closer to the blue rate. 

Do not plan on withdrawing cash from ATMs. The limit is extremely low for withdrawals (in my case, $AR 50,000 with a Priority City account), and the fee you have to pay is about U$S 12 each time. Yep, it is a no, no, no. 

An appealing alternative if you run out of cash is to transfer money to yourself through Western Union, just be aware that you may need to carry a voluminous pile of bills due to the rampant inflation. I would not make big transfers, but always less than 1,000, preferably less than 500. Consider that currently the biggest bill here is $AR 10,000, they just printed $AR 20,000 bills but they are not yet available. 

In general, I would say prices are twice (calculated in US dollars) what they were during my previous trip, in June 2023. The challenge for the local economy is that all prices were distorted by subsidies and gov control. You add inflation, and no one knows where prices really are. It is going to take some time for the local economy to balance, meanwhile you will find the same product with a huge price variation from one shop to another. Some prices are currently higher than in the US, like some meds and clothing, but most of the prices of goods that visitors would consume are similar or lower than in the US. For the locals it is unbearable, for a tourist coming from the US or West Europe it is still a good deal. But due to the currency situation in Brazil, all tourism is going to be sucked by our Brazilian friends.

I have not hired escorts so far, and I do not think I will. But perusing the comments in the local forums, the sex market situation seems to be similar to the broader market's. People are sharing experiences with prices from 20 bucks to 200. As in the past, the best deals are from Skokka, the highest prices are in soytuyo, and Rentmen is a guarantee of ridiculous overprices. Again, this is not based on my experiences but on comments I am reading in the Foro Pirata. 

In Buenos Aires, Grindr worked very well for me for non-transactional sex. Now I am inside the country, close to Paraguay. Although I have found a menu abundant on chipá, chipá mbocá, sopa paraguaya, asado, empanadas, milanesas de surubí, and other local delicacies, my diet has been low on dicks. None so far, but I have not been hunting. 

For the older forum members, if you remember and traveled back then, the general situation seems to be evolving to a context similar to the 90s, under Carlos Menem’s presidency. Argentina will probably stop being a popular destination for international tourism (all tourism from bordering countries is already gone), and countries like Brazil, the US, Spain, France, and Italy (all fav destinations for the locals) will see an invasion of Messi fans. 

[vinapu]

Big change in one year as I was there exactly 1 year ago.

Than prices were  at some instances ridiculously cheap and Blue rate was 3 times official. Biggest note was only 2000 , rarely seen so exchanging  100 $ yielded brick of roughly  100 peso banknotes.  

So it looks Milei brought some sense to economy after all and as always there will be winners and losers

[tm_nyc]

On 11/28/2024 at 2:03 PM, Latbear4blk said:

my diet has been low on dicks

Excellent post!  Hope that your diet situation improves soon.

[Latbear4blk]

I just realized I made a mistake in the headline, but I cannot edit it. @TotallyOz, would you be so kind to edit the headline and switch it to Nov 24/Jan 25, please? My mistake may trigger confusions.

I am back in Buenos Aires, after a month in the Corrientes region, ready to add a few more tips to this thread. As I said before, you can skip it if you are looking for paid sex information.

As expected, prices inside the country are considerably lower than in Buenos Aires. Grindr works very good ion Argentinean NE, if you are patient with faceless profiles, as homosexuals are still very discreet. I hooked up a couple of times, and in my interactions I was never asked for money. My profile has updated pictures of my face and my body, although I am not honest with my age (I say I am 56 😇). Yet, a lot of young guys contacted me always for not transactional sex.

If you happen to arrive to Buenos Aires via Aeroparque Jorge Newbery, avoid the line to take a taxi cab, as you may stay there longer than you did in your flight. Just go straight to the right end of the taxi cabs deck and you will arrive to the Uber pick up spot. Currently, Uber is fully legalized and the best option. In my previous visit, in June/July 2023, I spent about 40' in the taxis line. Yesterday, it took 3 minutes to be picked up by my Uber driver.

I have been walking a lot this weekend in Recoleta, Barrio Norte, and San Telmo. The city is empty, as the locals who can afford it are vacationing somewhere else. I loved the city with less people. However, the touristic spots are still crowded. I was wrong when I thought foreigners would stop coming over. I just returned from the street fair in San Telmo, and it was packed. Most of the visitors seem to be from Brazil ad the US, but I also recognize a lot of Europeans and accents from several LatAm countries.

My reports about prices in the OP are still current, as well as my tip on using your CC. The country is not the ridiculously cheap opportunity that was until Dec 2023, but if you research and compare, you will still find excellent opportunities in restaurants, cafes, and bakeries. 

[TotallyOz]

@Latbear4blk sure.

Great post. Thanks for the great detail.

[Latbear4blk]

1 hour ago, TotallyOz said:

@Latbear4blk sure.

Great post. Thanks for the great detail.

Muchas gracIas! You are the best!

[floridarob]

20 hours ago, Latbear4blk said:

You are the best!

He has his moments 😉